Thief Emperor

Chapter 842 Orthodoxy
At the end of December, with less than ten days left until the end of the year, Li Yun's carriage finally arrived at the city of Luoyang.

There were still dozens of miles away from Luoyang. The Jiangdong officials who had already arrived in Luoyang, led by Du Qian and Yao Zhong, went out of the city dozens of miles to welcome Li Yun.

Not only did they come out to greet him, they also brought a guard of honor to greet him. When Li's royal carriage approached, Du Qian was the first to kneel on the ground and kowtow in salute.

"Your Majesty, I, Du Qian, pay my respects to you, Your Majesty!"

"Yao Zhong, I meet the king."

A group of officials knelt on the ground.

Li Yun held Li Yuan in his arms, lifted the car curtain, let Li Yun look outside, and asked with a smile: "Did you see this scene? Are you scared?"

Li Yuan looked around and shook his head, saying, "I'm not afraid."

Li Yun touched his head and said with a smile: "It's good that you are not afraid. Then come with me and go out to meet them."

As he said this, Li Yun got off the carriage, then turned around and picked up Li Yuan as well. He led Li Yuan by the hand and walked in front of all the officials.

Everyone subconsciously looked up at the father and son, and Yao Zhong was the first to bow his head: "Greetings, Prince."

Everyone bowed their heads and called him prince.

Li Yun smiled dumbly, raised his hand and said: "You are too polite, I will just bow to him, but he is still a child, what is there to bow to?"

"Everyone stand up, everyone stand up."

He walked up to Du Qian and Yao Zhong, personally helped the two men up, and then said with a smile: "We can't even see Luoyang City from here. If we go out of the city so far to greet them, I'm afraid it will be dark by the time we get back."

Having said that, Li Yun looked up at the sky.

It was still morning.

Du Qian smiled and said, "Before dawn, we began to prepare for the arrival of the emperor in Luoyang."

Li Yun looked at the guards of honor on both sides and shook his head slightly: "This is the guard of honor for the emperor, right?"

Du Qian and Yao Zhong looked at each other, and Yao Zhong cupped his hands and said, "You must take the throne. At this time, you must take the throne without hesitation. In this world, only you can afford the emperor's ceremonial guard."

He whispered, "Sir, countless eyes in the Central Plains are watching here, watching you."

“I don’t know how many people in the world are looking at Luoyang right now.”

Li Yun was silent for a moment, and said helplessly: "It's too troublesome, too troublesome."

After saying this, he looked down at Li Yuan and said in a deep voice, "Why don't you bow to the two gentlemen?"

Elder Li bowed obediently, and Du Yao and the others quickly moved aside and returned the greeting with a bow.

Li Yun looked up at the sky, and then spoke a few words to Zhuo Guangrui beside him, asking about his recent situation. Then he smiled and said, "We are still quite a distance away from Luoyang. Don't delay any longer. It's very cold. Try to get into the city before dark."

"I'm counting on you to do your job. If you all get frostbitten, that would be terrible."

As soon as he said this, the officials nearby laughed out loud, and then as Li Yun and his son got on the carriage, the team started moving again.

On the way back to Luoyang, Li Yun talked to Du Qian, Yao Zhong and Zhuo Guangrui separately in his carriage, and delayed for a while to eat.

When it was almost dark, they finally arrived outside Luoyang City. At this time, Du Qian stopped Li Yun who was about to enter the city. Du Xianggong bowed his head and said, "The emperor is the future emperor. How can an emperor enter the city at night?"

"I think that Your Majesty should rest outside the city for one night, and then enter Luoyang in a grand and lively manner tomorrow."

Li Yun glanced at Du Qian, thought about it seriously, and then warned: "It's not impossible to enter the city tomorrow, but don't do it like the last time I left Luoyang, where I didn't know how many people knelt on both sides."

Du Qian smiled and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, my lord. Prime Minister Yao and I will make sure everything is arranged properly. There won't be any problems."

Li Yun nodded, called Yang Xi, and ordered them to set up camp outside the city.

…………

The next day, the sun was shining brightly.

The King of Wu entered Luoyang with the imperial procession. On both sides of the road, people lined the streets to cheer, and some knelt on the ground to salute Li Yun's carriage.

I don’t know who took the lead, but not long after, some people started shouting "Long live the emperor!"

Soon, the people on both sides shouted "Long live the emperor".

The ceremony of welcoming the King of Wu into Luoyang lasted until almost noon, and only then was the family able to enter Luoyang and temporarily stay in a mansion outside the emperor's palace in Luoyang.

Zhuo Guangrui stood in front of Li Yun, bowed his hands, and looked a little ashamed: "I have been appointed as the prefect of Luoyang by the order of the Lord. It has been several months, but so far Luoyang has only recovered a small part, and the palace where the Lord lives has not been repaired. I am guilty of a great crime."

Li Yun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Luoyang was invaded by several groups of people, first by Wang Junping, then by Wei Quanzhong. When I first entered Luoyang, I had seen what Luoyang looked like."

"It's already pretty good now. As for the palace."

Mr. Li shook his head and said, "Take your time, it doesn't matter."

Zhuo Guangrui bowed his head and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the palace will be repaired by next spring. As for expanding it into an imperial city, it will probably take another two to three years."

Li Yun looked at him thoughtfully and asked, "They are urging you, aren't they?" Zhuo Guangrui lowered his head and said nothing.

Li Yun smiled and did not ask any further questions.

Obviously, there were people who were more anxious than him about building the imperial palace and the imperial city.

Those who were more anxious than him were not just one or two people, but almost all the civil servants, including Du Qian and Yao Zhong.

Even some military generals were a little anxious.

Li Yun lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then said calmly: "I still say the same thing. As the Yin of Luoyang, you should make people's livelihood your top priority. As for palaces and mansions, it would be better if they can be built faster. If they are too slow."

"I won't rush you."

"Don't bend over all the time. Sit down and talk."

Zhuo Guangrui sat down as he was told, then looked at Li Yun, lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "The two gentlemen said that the throne will be officially established next year. No matter what, the palace must be rebuilt in the first half of next year."

Li Yun raised his eyebrows but did not correct Zhuo Guangrui.

Now, for him, many things are happening naturally. Although he is not too anxious, he is not so pretentious as to refuse to sit on the throne just because it is placed in front of him.

"Whether it is in the right position or not, many things still need to be discussed slowly before they can be decided. I have been away from the Central Plains for a year. How has the Central Plains recovered in this year?"

Zhuo Guangrui thought for a moment and said, "Sir, I have only been in charge of Luoyang for a few months, and I am only in charge of Luoyang. As for the entire Central Plains..."

"I'm afraid the higher-ups will have to ask Mr. Yao."

Li Yun frowned, then said, "Then tell me about Luoyang."

"Luoyang is doing quite well this year. Next year..."

“Then you can start collecting taxes.”

In the past two years, Li Yun has not levied taxes on the Central Plains, because the Central Plains has been in such a miserable state in recent years that it needs a few years to recuperate.

Now, the economy and people's livelihood in the Central Plains have obviously recovered a lot. At least in the eyes of officials like Zhuo Guangrui, it has reached the point where taxation can be levied normally.

Hearing this, Li Yun nodded slightly.

As long as Shannan East Road, Lingnan Road, Central Plains, and the entire Henan Road can collect taxes normally, even if Hebei Road is temporarily unable to collect taxes normally, it will only take about two years for Li Yun to "restore" his combat effectiveness.

At least it can replenish some of the "savings" that have been consumed in recent years.

Li Yun asked Zhuo Guangrui some more questions before he stood up and saw him off.

After Zhuo Guangrui left, Li Yun asked someone to invite Du Qian over. The two of them sat across the table from each other in the study. There were a few side dishes and a pot of good wine on the table.

Li Yun clinked his glasses with Du Qian, then smiled and said, "It has been several years since Brother Shouyi asked me to take the position. In these years, I have not considered this matter. Now, it is finally time to consider this matter. Brother Shouyi, you decide."

"What should we do about this?"

With Li Yun's current power and strength, he can become emperor at any time, but if he does so rashly, there will be endless troubles.

If the cause is not justified, there will definitely be people who will take advantage of this to cause trouble and rebel.

If you want to be orthodox, there are generally two ways.

One is to accept the abdication of the previous dynasty.

Another more forceful way is to invade the capital of the previous dynasty and then make strong claims on the occupied areas.

Nowadays, it is difficult for Li Yun to do both.

The old Zhou emperor, Wu Yuancheng, was enjoying a good life in Shu. According to the information from Jiusi, he could sleep with several women every day.

Full of life.

The capital of the old Zhou Dynasty, Guanzhong, is currently in the hands of Wei Quanzhong, and Li Yun has not yet captured the capital.

Du Qian understood what Li Yun meant. He looked at Li Yun and said, "You can first offer sacrifices to heaven and be crowned emperor to obtain the title. Once you have the title, you will naturally be legitimate in the future."

"Or, you can send an envoy to Shuzhong and ask the old Zhou emperor to abdicate to the upper throne, and the upper throne will confer him the title of King of Shu."

"As long as the emperor promises never to invade Shu, based on my understanding of the old Zhou emperor..."

"He will almost certainly agree to the superior's request, and will even take the initiative to send the imperial seal to Luoyang for the superior."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun raised his head and took a sip of wine.

"But…"

He looked up to the window and spoke softly.

"I will definitely go to Shu."

(End of this chapter)